Seydou Balani

Seydou Balani – Teguereni

Hard rockin’ balafon (balani in Bambara) and serious talkin’ echo-y vocal incantations for this rainy afternoon. Dude is named after his instrument (Seydou Koita aka Seydou Balani), this definitely isn’t his first rodeo on this West African xylophone.

Face A

 

Face B
Ne Dona Bara Kola
Bara
Mogoya

2 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

  • September 13, 2012 at 1:55 am

    Incredible. Many thanks for all you do–just discovered this blog, and have spent a good deal of time on it already.

  • February 13, 2013 at 4:04 am

    Thanks for putting this out here. Actually, balafon is the Bambara phrase for xylaphone (bala-) playing (fon). Balani refers to the southern Malian dance style of balafon usually played by an orchestra including drummers, that usually ends in a frenzied breakdown. This is the music most associated with the Senufo and Minyanka, rather than the Mande (Bambara and Malinke). Traditional Mande balafon is much more restrained and constrained by griot traditions.
    “Teguereni” is an expression that is used at concerts to encourage the audience to clap their hands or applaud. “Badenya” (written here as “Bade Ya” refers to the affinity and cooperation one feels when two or more siblings have the same mother in a polygynous household – “fadenya” is an indication of a competitive relationship.

Leave a reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.